NAIROBI, Kenya, Sept 14- Fashion and clothing retailer Deacons East Africa Limited is set to shut down its operations in East Africa.
This comes even as the NSE listed firm announced the sale of its business and assets after 60 years in the fashion and clothing industry as a result of failure to raise Sh450 million aimed at helping the business remain afloat.
Deacons currently owns 4U2, FNF, Adidas, and Bossini clothing and shoe stores at Sarit Center, Two Rivers Mall, Yaya Center, Village Market and Garden City within Kenya.
The company was placed under administration in November 2018, two years after selling its shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) due to debts amounting to Sh1.1 billion after it lost its biggest franchise, the South African retailer Mr. Price Limited.
The case of Deacons is almost similar to that of Nakumatt, Botswana’s Choppies, and Uchumi who exited the Kenyan retail market as a result of huge debts affecting their operations which resulted to insolvency hence the inability to meet financial obligations to landlords, suppliers and employees.
